28 January, 2014

“My hovercraft is not just a toy; I have a motive for it.”

Barry
Eison of Tennessee is a man with a plan. But the 56-year-old industrial maintenance specialist was determined to give his plan a strong foundation: “I’ve been looking at hovercraft for five
years. I’ve looked at just about every hovercraft company out there; Neoteric
is the only one that doesn’t have a single negative review.”

Barry further
boosted his strong foundation by completing thorough training at Hovercraft Training Centers. He says, “My biggest concern was being able to safely
operate the craft. Training is absolutely necessary; if you don’t know how to
use it, stay off of it!” Here, Barry (right) receives his certification from HTC
Senior Instructor Chris Fitzgerald …

Why a
hovercraft? Barry says, “Every time we go
out hunting, fishing, exploring, we see places we can’t get to. With a hovercraft, I think we can get to them.” But his plan involves much more than
just having fun with his hovercraft – he intends to turn it into a business. “I know the outdoors. I know what people
would like to see a hovercraft do. I’ll learn the hovercraft and be able to
show what it’s capable of doing,” he says, “If I can marry these two, I can sell hovercraft.”

Even
before he learned to fly his new hovercraft, he’d already lined
up at least 14 potential people interested in taking test flights - among them not just sportsmen but also rice
farmers, first responders and game wardens. Here’s what Barry has to say about
each group …

Sportsmen:“When
you’re hunting, fishing, exploring, so many areas are inaccessible. Especially
if you’re getting up in years, you can’t travel through mud or wade through
swamps. Duck hunting is big in my area; one of the biggest frustrations for
duck hunters is you have to be able to go from water to land to water – a
hovercraft makes that possible.”

Rice
farmers:“Rice farmers require a levee around their
property, and maintaining it is a nightmare. The water in a rice field isn’t
deep enough for a boat, so they have to use 4-wheelers or Rangers and end up
causing damage. Hovercraft would allow them to fly right over their crop
without damaging it. I already have four rice farmers that want me to give them
demo rides.”

First
responders:“Every year we have people die when the
spring floods come. I’ve seen people die because we couldn’t get to them. A
couple of volunteer rescue squads are already very interested, so I’ll
volunteer my services to them.”

Game
wardens: “I have a cabin in a 26,000-acre
refuge. The game warden there talks about how he can’t get to areas for
enforcement or counting wildlife. He has an extreme interest in hovercraft.”

He’s done
his research, he’s chosen a state-of-the-art hovercraft, and he thoroughly understands
the importance of proper training. We predict that Barry Eison is well on his
way, hovering straight toward success!